- #1 AI: The Somnium Files
97% matchVery Positive92% of 9,101 reviews2019
Dev: Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.
Windows
Median: 4.6 hrsMean: 15.1 hrs≥1hr: 85%
Play as detective Kaname Date on the case of an elusive serial killer in this thrilling, sci-fi murder mystery.
Why similar: Visual Novel 24.5%, Detective 18.6%, Anime 16%, Mystery 12.2%, Sci-fi 7.8%
Why You'll Like It: This title combines complex detective work with surreal, psychological interrogation sequences in a sci-fi setting.
- #2 Urban Myth Dissolution Center
96% matchVery Positive88% of 5,751 reviews2025
Dev: HakababunkoPub: SHUEISHA GAMES
Windows
Median: 7.7 hrsMean: 9.8 hrs≥1hr: 84%
Join forces with the psychic Director of the Urban Myth Dissolution Center and solve a variety of cases involving cursed relics, rental properties with shady histories, and dimensional anomalies. Monstrous oddities and otherworldly planes abound in this occult mystery adventure game!
Why similar: Visual Novel 21.2%, Drama 12.4%, Detective 10.5%, Mystery 10%, Choose Your Own Adventure 9.6%
Why You'll Like It: It captures a similar dark, investigative atmosphere with a focus on uncovering the truth behind unsettling urban legends.
- #3 Your Turn To Die -Death Game By Majority-
96% matchOverwhelmingly Positive98% of 3,866 reviews2023
Dev: NankidaiPub: 0UP GAMES
Windows
Median: 6.4 hrsMean: 14.0 hrs≥1hr: 82%
Your Turn To Die -Death Game By Majority- is a multi-ending horror adventure game. Sara Chidouin returns home from school late one night to discover that something's gone terribly wrong. When she comes to, she finds herself, her friend Joe, and 9 other people trapped in a mysterious place.
Why similar: Choose Your Own Adventure 27.5%, Dark 16.4%, Anime 13.2%, Mystery 12.4%, Multiple Endings 8.3%
Why You'll Like It: This game features high-stakes interrogation and social deduction in a dark, life-or-death mystery setting.
- #4 Kara no Shojo
95% matchVery Positive92% of 439 reviews2018
Dev: Innocent GreyPub: MangaGamer
Windows
Median: 6.1 hrsMean: 165.3 hrs≥1hr: 64%
Play as a detective tasked with catching a serial killer in this visual novel set in post-war Japan. Investigate key locations, question many complex characters, piece together clues, and try to stop the culprit before they end yet another young girl's smile.
Why similar: Visual Novel 15%, Choose Your Own Adventure 13.9%, Detective 13.4%, Drama 11%, Anime 10.8%
Why You'll Like It: A gritty, classic detective visual novel that deals with dark, mature themes and complex murder investigations.
- #5 Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
94% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 35,609 reviews2016
Dev: Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 7.9 hrsMean: 22.8 hrs≥1hr: 88%
Investigate murders, search for clues and talk to your classmates to prepare for trial. There, you'll engage in deadly wordplay, going back and forth with suspects. Dissect their statements and fire their words back at them to expose their lies! There's only one way to survive—pull the trigger.
Why similar: Visual Novel 28%, Detective 23.7%, Anime 20.9%, Mystery 14.9%, Horror 5.5%
Why You'll Like It: It is the definitive murder mystery visual novel that relies heavily on interrogation and logic-based trials.
- #6 Interrogation: You will be deceived
94% matchMostly Positive78% of 369 reviews2019
Dev: Critique GamingPub: Assemble Entertainment
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 4.4 hrsMean: 5.1 hrs≥1hr: 91%
As a detective tasked with bringing down a dangerous terrorist group, you fight on two fronts: interrogating suspects & managing your team and its reputation. With time running out, how far will you go to stop these criminals? Manipulation, threats or even torture? Does the end justify the means?
Why similar: Detective 30.3%, Visual Novel 27.9%, Dark 21.7%, 2D 9.2%, Choices Matter 5.2%
Why You'll Like It: The core gameplay loop revolves entirely around the mechanics of interrogating suspects and uncovering the truth through dialogue.
- #7 The Shell Part I: Inferno
93% matchVery Positive91% of 1,325 reviews2023
Dev: Innocent GreyPub: Shiravune
Windows
Median: 10.7 hrsMean: 110.2 hrs≥1hr: 70%
Unravel a string of gruesome murders terrorizing Tokyo in this mystery-thriller visual novel. The secrets of a case from six years prior may just be the key to the current unending cycle of tragedy—and the thing that cracks this woeful world’s shell may be one girl’s smile.
Why similar: Visual Novel 21.1%, Detective 17%, Choose Your Own Adventure 11%, Mystery 10.7%, Dark 9.8%
Why You'll Like It: It offers a deep, psychological mystery experience that focuses on detective work and dark, branching narrative paths.
- #8 GNOSIA
92% matchVery Positive94% of 4,733 reviews2022
Dev: Petit DepottoPub: PLAYISM
Windows
Median: 7.2 hrsMean: 15.4 hrs≥1hr: 90%
The Gnosia lie. Pretending to be human, they’ll get in close, trick and deceive, and then eliminate one victim at a time...
Why similar: Visual Novel 26.4%, Anime 18%, Detective 16.3%, Sci-fi 15.4%, Mystery 13.1%
Why You'll Like It: This sci-fi game uses social deduction and interrogation as its primary mechanics to solve a recurring mystery.
- #9 Homicipher
91% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 7,818 reviews2024
Dev: 八名木GamesPub: Gamirror Games
Windows · Mac
Median: 5.4 hrsMean: 6.3 hrs≥1hr: 89%
Homicipher is a language deciphering and exploration ADV based on the concept of "romance with horror men." The protagonist, who has wandered into another world, interacts with non-human beings to decipher their language while striving to escape.
Why similar: Choose Your Own Adventure 28.2%, Visual Novel 26.2%, Dark 14.3%, Horror 13.9%, Multiple Endings 7.7%
Why You'll Like It: An atmospheric and unsettling visual novel that focuses on deciphering communication in a dangerous, dark environment.
- #10 The Occult Detective
91% matchMostly Positive72% of 323 reviews2025
Dev: Battlecry Studio
Windows
A narrative detective game blended with supernatural elements. Play as a rookie investigator, discover vital clues in every case, dive into unscripted interrogations and uncover truths that break minds. But with each revelation, the world feels... less human.
Why similar: Visual Novel 24%, Detective 19%, Anime 16.4%, Drama 12.3%, Mystery 9.9%
Why You'll Like It: A story-rich detective game that blends supernatural mystery with anime-inspired visual novel aesthetics.
- #11 BAD END THEATER
90% matchOverwhelmingly Positive98% of 9,533 reviews2021
Dev: NomnomNami
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 1.6 hrsMean: 3.5 hrs≥1hr: 71%
select your protagonist and explore a variety of terrible fates!
Why similar: Visual Novel 25.3%, Choose Your Own Adventure 23.8%, Pixel Graphics 11.4%, Cute 9.5%, Multiple Endings 9.3%
Why You'll Like It: This game focuses on exploring dark, tragic outcomes through branching choices and multiple endings.
- #12 PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo
89% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 6,520 reviews2023
Dev: Square Enix
Windows
Median: 8.6 hrsMean: 10.1 hrs≥1hr: 87%
How far would you go to bring someone back from the dead? Discover the depths that some will go to in this horror-adventure game.
Why similar: Visual Novel 26.3%, Anime 17.3%, Choose Your Own Adventure 15%, Horror 11.8%, Mystery 11.8%
Why You'll Like It: A dark, supernatural mystery visual novel that excels at building tension through its unique narrative structure.
- #13 Ib
89% matchOverwhelmingly Positive99% of 5,037 reviews2022
Dev: kouriPub: PLAYISM
Windows
Median: 3.4 hrsMean: 16.4 hrs≥1hr: 82%
A 2D exploration adventure game set in a creepy, mysterious art gallery.
Why similar: Choose Your Own Adventure 24.7%, Anime 12.1%, Surreal 11.6%, Pixel Graphics 11.2%, Horror 11.1%
Why You'll Like It: A classic pixel-art horror game that uses exploration and narrative to build a sense of dread and mystery.
- #14 Who's Lila?
87% matchVery Positive95% of 3,515 reviews2022
Dev: Garage Heathen
Windows
Median: 3.5 hrsMean: 4.7 hrs≥1hr: 78%
A reverse-detective adventure, where you control your character's face
Why similar: Choose Your Own Adventure 26.9%, Visual Novel 19.6%, Detective 18.5%, Surreal 12.5%, Horror 11%
Why You'll Like It: An experimental, psychological horror game that uses unique face-tracking mechanics to influence dialogue and investigation.
- #15 Hazy Mind
86% matchVery Positive86% of 318 reviews2024
Dev: betetiro
Windows · Mac · Linux
You can't remember anything, and all you can see is HER. Delve into your story and uncover the truth behind what happened to you and your parents.
Why similar: Visual Novel 27.2%, Anime 15%, Choose Your Own Adventure 14%, Horror 8.6%, Adventure 8%
Why You'll Like It: A psychological horror visual novel that explores surreal, dark themes through a narrative-heavy lens.
- #16 Case #1472
86% matchMixed57% of 68 reviews2025
Dev: Broken at Release Game Studio
Windows
A mysterious woman is sitting in front of you. Who is she? And who are you? And why are you both there? Case #1472 is mystery information digging interrogation thriller game where there are more things going on than what meets the eye, but are you able to unravel what has happened?
Why similar: Visual Novel 23.8%, Detective 17.5%, Drama 15.7%, Dark 14%, Horror 9.6%
Why You'll Like It: An interactive fiction game that focuses on puzzle-solving and investigative deduction.
- #17 outside the door
84% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 543 reviews2024
Dev: basandaika games
Windows
Outside the door is a mystic visual novel set within one office. You are about to figure out the stories of a few visitors without having a single memory of yourself.
Why similar: Visual Novel 29.1%, Anime 22%, Pixel Graphics 12.9%, Surreal 11.4%, Mystery 8.5%
Why You'll Like It: A dark, anime-styled visual novel that focuses on psychological tension and unsettling narrative discovery.
- #18 The Murder Hotel
84% matchVery Positive95% of 59 reviews2025
Dev: Wegenbartho Games
Windows
Interrogate suspects, search for clues, & uncover a dastardly plot, as you solve a string of mystifying murders to help reluctant detective Ilmarinen escape the foreboding Fafnir Hotel.
Why similar: Visual Novel 23.1%, Detective 19.3%, Anime 14.6%, Mystery 12.8%, Surreal 11.6%
Why You'll Like It: A mystery-focused visual novel that centers on detective work and uncovering secrets in a confined setting.
- #19 My Head On Your Body
85% matchMostly Positive74% of 50 reviews2024
Dev: Creepy Pop
Windows · Mac · Linux
You've moved to a new house where the previous owner was murdered. They never found his head. But, it has found you.
Why similar: Visual Novel 26.2%, Drama 17.4%, Anime 16.1%, Horror 12.7%, Dark 11.5%
Why You'll Like It: An experimental visual novel that leans into psychological horror and dark, abstract storytelling.
- #20 Postmortem: One Must Die (Extended Cut)
88% matchMostly Negative40% of 187 reviews2013
Dev: Unbound Creations
Windows
Median: 12 minMean: 2.7 hrs≥1hr: 20%
Narrative-adventure playing an Agent of Death who must take ONE life that could change the fate of a conflict-torn Nation
Why similar: Adventure 29%, Visual Novel 24.6%, Dark 16.3%, Multiple Endings 9.3%, 2D 8.8%
Why You'll Like It: It forces players to make difficult moral judgments through interrogation and investigation of the suspects.
- #21 Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk
82% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 32,921 reviews2020
Dev: Nikita KryukovPub: Nikita Igorevich Studio
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 24 minMean: 7.2 hrs≥1hr: 11%
A short story about what sort of challenges everyday little things can be. Help the girl buy milk, be the first not to disappoint her.
Why similar: Visual Novel 40.7%, Horror 15.2%, Anime 14.4%, Drama 12.2%, Adventure 6.5%
Why You'll Like It: A short, intense, and psychologically dark experience that mirrors the surreal tone of the seed game.
- #22 WORLD OF HORROR
82% matchVery Positive90% of 9,731 reviews2023
Dev: panstaszPub: Ysbryd Games
Windows · Mac
Median: 2.6 hrsMean: 7.7 hrs≥1hr: 71%
Experience the quiet terror of this 1-bit love letter to Junji Ito and H.P. Lovecraft. Navigate a hellish roguelite reality with turn-based combat and unforgiving choices. Experiment with your deck of event cards to discover new forms of cosmic horror in every playthrough. The inevitable awaits...
Why similar: Horror 27%, Anime 20.2%, Pixel Graphics 20%, Mystery 15.2%, 2D 10.4%
Why You'll Like It: A surreal, pixel-art horror game that emphasizes investigation and survival in a dark, cosmic-horror setting.
- #23 INHUMAN
83% matchMixed63% of 111 reviews2023
Dev: Qiutaixu studio
Windows
"INHUMAN" is an independent horror game. The story takes place in the conspiracy of an ancient clan, and the protagonist is in a psychedelic state and can't even distinguish herself. With further exploration and confrontation with all kinds of ghosts, the puzzle will be solved step by step...
Why similar: Drama 32%, Horror 24.2%, Mystery 22%, Adventure 14.3%, Story Rich 6.5%
Why You'll Like It: A dark, psychological thriller that incorporates puzzle elements to drive the narrative forward.
- #24 The NOexistenceN of you AND me
77% matchVery Positive93% of 19,673 reviews2024
Dev: 0x0Real StudioPub: Nino Games
Windows · Mac
Median: 2.5 hrsMean: 15.7 hrs≥1hr: 70%
Use "game" as a medium to showcase the world of "you/girl". Explore the truth of "you/girl/world" through the form of a "visual novel".
Why similar: Visual Novel 29.6%, Anime 15.2%, Choose Your Own Adventure 10.7%, Cute 10.2%, Drama 9.2%
- #25 Nightmare Zapping
80% matchVery Positive99% of 74 reviews2023
Dev: Maldo19
Windows
A horror channel browsing game where each channel holds a different nightmare to experience, explore them and find out the truth about what has happened in a small town where the inhabitants have disappeared.
Why similar: Visual Novel 20.1%, Choose Your Own Adventure 16.1%, Dark 11.3%, Anime 11.2%, Pixel Graphics 9.7%
Why You'll Like It: A pixel-art horror visual novel that focuses on dark, story-driven gameplay and atmospheric tension.
- #26 Yet Another Killing Game
78% matchVery Positive98% of 220 reviews2025
Dev: Soulseer Studios
Windows · Mac · Linux
You wake up in a house, alone with two beautiful girls... But no one is allowed to leave until one of you DIES. Why is this happening? What is the purpose of this “killing game”? But most importantly...WHO SHOULD DIE?!
Why similar: Visual Novel 18.5%, Choose Your Own Adventure 15.7%, Anime 14.1%, Dark 12.2%, Mystery 10.7%
Why You'll Like It: A dark, mystery-focused visual novel that explores the consequences of a high-stakes killing game.
- #27 12 Hours to Die
81% matchMostly Positive73% of 226 reviews2020
Dev: Wesley ReitsmaPub: Westeford
Windows · Mac · Linux
A mystery visual novel about six students forced to play a 12-hour long killing game.
Why similar: Visual Novel 29.1%, Detective 21.1%, Mystery 12.4%, Anime 11.7%, Dark 10.6%
Why You'll Like It: A detective-themed mystery that uses puzzle-solving to advance the plot within a limited timeframe.
- #28 For Your Tranquility
81% matchMixed68% of 190 reviews2023
Dev: Gamesung Games
Windows · Mac
It's a mystery game that reveals the truth through an autopsy. Be a forensic doctor and find out why the dead died.
Why similar: Detective 27.2%, Visual Novel 23.4%, Mystery 16.9%, Adventure 8.3%, 2D 5.9%
Why You'll Like It: A point-and-click detective game that emphasizes investigation and uncovering the truth behind a mystery.
- #29 DIGITAL EXORCIST case_(0);
79% matchVery Positive94% of 156 reviews2023
Dev: COOL BEANS PRODUCTIONSPub: HYPER REAL
Windows
Step into a dark world where cyberdemons haunt humankind. When mutilated bodies start appearing all over this sleepy town in the Mississippi inaka, Sawyer, ex-AGENCY operative; now unemployed shut-in, must exorcise the demon perpetrator in this story-rich, PC-98 style adventure game.
Why similar: Visual Novel 20.8%, Detective 17.1%, Choose Your Own Adventure 15.7%, Anime 12.1%, Dark 9.7%
Why You'll Like It: A story-rich visual novel that blends detective work with a dark, modern supernatural premise.
- #30 Decollate Decoration
77% matchVery Positive95% of 224 reviews2026
Dev: KANEKODOPub: KEMCO
Windows
This is a point-and-click, command-selection style adventure game where the protagonist is a girl who has become a ghost. The objective is to fulfill her desires by speaking to her beloved "him" causing poltergeists, visiting in dreams, or even cursing.
Why similar: Visual Novel 25%, Horror 15.2%, Pixel Graphics 14.3%, Cute 10.8%, Adventure 10.3%
- #31 You know my name?
78% matchMostly Positive71% of 213 reviews2024
Dev: Mystael studio
Windows · Mac · Linux
A short visual novel about finding your name and a girl in the fog.
Why similar: Visual Novel 46.7%, Pixel Graphics 20.8%, Horror 17.2%, 2D 9.3%, Story Rich 5.8%
Why You'll Like It: An experimental and abstract visual novel that focuses on psychological themes and surreal storytelling.
- #32 Homicipher: Demo
76% matchOverwhelmingly Positive98% of 1,631 reviews2023
Dev: 八名木GamesPub: Gamera Games
Windows · Mac
Median: 36 minMean: 10.9 hrs≥1hr: 34%
Homicipher is a female-targeted language deciphering and exploration ADV based on the concept of "romance with horror men." The protagonist, who has wandered into another world, interacts with non-human beings to decipher their language while striving to escape.
Why similar: Choose Your Own Adventure 39%, Dark 19.8%, Horror 16.2%, Multiple Endings 10.2%, Adventure 9.3%
- #33 BAD END
79% matchVery Positive84% of 393 reviews2015
Dev: Arai Koh Create OfficePub: YOX-Project
Windows
Median: 3.0 hrsMean: 3.9 hrs≥1hr: 92%
It's rumored that those who play 'BAD END'- a Visual Novel will die in REAL LIFE if they make the wrong decision in the game itself.
Why similar: Visual Novel 21.4%, Choose Your Own Adventure 19.5%, Anime 15%, Mystery 11.3%, Horror 10.5%
Why You'll Like It: An indie visual novel that focuses on dark, branching paths and the consequences of player choices.
- #34 RGB GlitchGazer
74% matchVery Positive99% of 93 reviews2026
Dev: 群星闪耀时Pub: 群星闪耀时
Windows
A mad and romantic ADV. Unravel a strange world of science and philosophy with a mecha girl, zombie girl, or beastfolk. Some paths may disturb you... or thrill you.
Why similar: Visual Novel 16.8%, Choose Your Own Adventure 16.2%, Drama 13.7%, Anime 11.8%, Surreal 9.1%
- #35 HAPPY SAIN† SHEOL
75% matchVery Positive85% of 221 reviews2024
Dev: HUNGRYCULTPub: Sekai Project
Windows · Mac · Linux
Two thousand years ago, the Pestis Disaster swept through the land, corrupting all living things and making it to difficult to live on the land. Having touched the darkest darkness the world has seen, one must now face the dazzling light. Thus I pose this question. Whose wings did I see that day?
Why similar: Visual Novel 19.8%, Anime 15.6%, Dark 13.4%, Horror 9.9%, Pixel Graphics 9.4%
- #36 MY ADAPTATION IN(TO) HUMAN
76% matchMixed66% of 56 reviews2024
Dev: SpoocleMacBoogle
Windows
You are a body snatching creature. Capture the body, explore the environment, reproduce.
Why similar: Visual Novel 38.3%, Horror 21%, Surreal 15.5%, Adventure 12.8%, 2D 10.1%
- #37 Interrogation Simulator
75% matchVery Positive95% of 60 reviews2022
Dev: Otis MillerPub: Fire Cycle Games
Windows · Linux
Inspired by JCS videos and similar Interrogation analysis. Match evidence with statements. Play good cop/bad cop. Make choices. Learn what makes people tick. Unravel the mystery.
Why similar: Choose Your Own Adventure 49.6%, Visual Novel 35.8%, 2D 10%, Story Rich 4.6%
- #38 CORPSE FACTORY
74% matchVery Positive80% of 855 reviews2022
Dev: RIVER CROW STUDIO
Windows
Median: 4.3 hrsMean: 6.7 hrs≥1hr: 94%
Discard your sense of morality and enter the world of CORPSE FACTORY. An obscure website allows users to request a death. Victims supposedly receive a photograph of their own corpse before they are killed! With English voice acting by an all-star cast.
Why similar: Visual Novel 27.5%, Anime 18.3%, Mystery 12.7%, Horror 9.5%, Dark 6.4%
- #39 Insight
73% matchVery Positive86% of 66 reviews2024
Dev: GravelRoadPub: PaperPixel Games
Windows
Insight is a single-player horror story game shrouded in mystery. You'll take control of different characters to solve crimes and unveil the dark secrets behind them.
Why similar: Detective 19.8%, Drama 14.8%, Dark 14.4%, Horror 11.3%, Surreal 10.4%
- #40 The Rule Of SHE
72% matchVery Positive88% of 58 reviews2025
Dev: HaiBin studio
Windows
A wandering soul mistakenly enters a world of strange tales and odd rules. Beware! This place is fraught with danger. To complete reincarnation, you must toe the line. Any soul that dares to go against the system will face correction. Will you comply—or defy?
Why similar: Drama 22.4%, Horror 13.3%, Mystery 12.8%, Pixel Graphics 10.6%, Surreal 10.5%
- #41 Reaplaced
73% matchVery Positive91% of 55 reviews2023
Dev: Mystery Gamedev
Windows · Mac · Linux
A supernatural Halloween whodunnit. Solve a chilling locked-room mystery before the grim reaper reveals the answer!
Why similar: Detective 19.7%, Visual Novel 17.8%, Dark 16.2%, Anime 14.7%, Horror 11.3%
- #42 DEAD LAMB WALKING
71% matchVery Positive97% of 187 reviews2024
Dev: Lyn Mametchi
Windows
A story about a dead lamb walking.
Why similar: Visual Novel 25.2%, Cute 13.3%, Anime 11.6%, Horror 11.3%, Drama 9%
- #43 Doki Doki AI Interrogation
72% matchVery Positive82% of 502 reviews2024
Dev: YAMADA
Windows · Mac
A short interrogation game taking full advantage of ChatGPT! You are tasked with interrogating the suspect [AI] of a murder case as an [excellent police officer]. How you choose to interrogate the suspect is up to you. How the AI reacts is rendered in real-time through ChatGPT.
Why similar: Detective 27.2%, Sci-fi 19.1%, Drama 18.4%, Choose Your Own Adventure 12.7%, Mystery 12.1%
- #44 Love, Internet, and Murder Magic
71% matchMostly Positive76% of 242 reviews2025
Dev: Renka
Windows
Love, Internet, and Murder Magic is a Roguelike game. You will role-play an agent of a streamer who died because of a murder. You are trying to "bring her back" through AI technology on the Internet, making her the unique creation of the Internet.
Why similar: Anime 29.1%, Visual Novel 23%, Cute 14%, Mystery 11.8%, Multiple Endings 9.9%
- #45 Log.in
70% matchMostly Positive76% of 86 reviews2026
Dev: Little氷華
Windows
Log.in is a mystery-horror game where you explore a PC screen, digging through images, videos and files. Hidden somewhere in the system is the location of a girl being held captive. Your actions on the desktop will dramatically change the story and her fate.
Why similar: Choose Your Own Adventure 18.4%, Mystery 17%, Visual Novel 16.3%, Horror 13.1%, Adventure 9.8%
- #46 The Butterfly Collector
68% matchVery Positive89% of 870 reviews2025
Dev: Wicky Yu
Windows
investigate the evidence left by a stalker and kidnapper and track the fate of a college girl. The player advances and watches the plot by clicking to make choices for the heroine at key moments, with different choices leading to different endings.
Why similar: Visual Novel 52.9%, Horror 21.3%, Adventure 12.5%, Gore 5.2%, Violent 4.2%
- #47 This is Interesting
68% matchVery Positive99% of 79 reviews2025
Dev: Scott Jund
Windows
This is Interesting is a psychological horror mystery based game with roguelite elements. You are being watched, and you aren't really sure why. Delve through the depths of memory to uncover the mystery behind the gray purgatory you find yourself in.
Why similar: Mystery 27.3%, Horror 19.4%, Pixel Graphics 16.1%, 2D 14.4%, Adventure 10.7%
- #48 The Real Face of a VTuber
67% matchVery Positive93% of 276 reviews2026
Dev: 莉莉恩工作室Pub: WhisperGames
Windows
A narrative courtroom adventure all about VTubers! Players will take the role of prosecutor Justin Truth and investigate a murder at a VTuber agency, doing their best to uncover the identity of both the killer and VTuber's real face.
Why similar: Visual Novel 21.3%, Detective 20.1%, Choose Your Own Adventure 12.2%, Anime 11.8%, Mystery 11.5%
- #49 MMM: Murder Most Misfortunate
73% matchVery Positive82% of 124 reviews2017
Dev: Michael LongPub: Foolish Mortals Games
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 3.2 hrsMean: 3.3 hrs≥1hr: 82%
A gruesome murder interrupts an evening party at a secluded mansion and you are the prime suspect! Explore the mansion, search for clues, and interrogate the other guests as you strive to unmask the killer in this open-ended mystery.
Why similar: Visual Novel 46.6%, Adventure 25.2%, Mystery 21.8%, Story Rich 5.6%, Singleplayer 0.8%
- #50 Contraindication
67% matchVery Positive99% of 68 reviews2025
Dev: Static Remains
Windows
Your end is my beginning. A short psychological visual novel with exploration and puzzle elements... it already lays shattered.
Why similar: Visual Novel 43.2%, Anime 26.7%, Dark 12.6%, 2D 12.4%, Story Rich 4.8%
- #51 Magical Girl Witch Trials
63% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 29,650 reviews2025
Dev: AcaciaPub: Re,AER
Windows · Mac
Median: 15.8 hrsMean: 28.1 hrs≥1hr: 87%
Thirteen girls awaken, only to find themselves in a prison. What awaits them: a Witch Trial. Help them prepare for the trial by exploring the prison in order to find the witch hidden amongst them. Find the witch, learn what kind of magic she holds, dispel the lies, and prepare for the execution.
Why similar: Visual Novel 30.8%, Detective 18.3%, Cute 13.1%, Mystery 10.3%, Anime 9.4%
- #52 Suhoshin
69% matchVery Positive91% of 166 reviews2022
Dev: No More 500
Windows
Suhoshin is a 2D Visual Novel set in the medieval Joseon period of Korea. While investigating a series of mysterious murders, you will have to make choices that will lead you down different paths toward different endings.
Why similar: Visual Novel 21.3%, Anime 14.3%, Choose Your Own Adventure 13.3%, Detective 11%, Mystery 11%
- #53 春と修羅｜Haru to Shura
69% matchVery Positive91% of 94 reviews2021
Dev: MIYAKOpubl
Windows
Explore a mysterious world as the protagonist in this short adventure game with pixel graphics.
Why similar: Choose Your Own Adventure 28.3%, Dark 18.5%, Anime 13.1%, Pixel Graphics 12%, 2D 7.9%
- #54 √Letter - Root Letter -
70% matchMostly Positive79% of 575 reviews2017
Dev: DRAGAMI GAMES, LTD.
Windows
Median: 5.0 hrsMean: 11.7 hrs≥1hr: 92%
When a letter is delivered 15 years late - you discover an old pen-friend was involved in a murder, before she disappeared. Travelling to her hometown, you must investigate the murder, using her past letters as clues to uncover the disturbing truth.
Why similar: Choose Your Own Adventure 15.8%, Visual Novel 15.4%, Detective 13.6%, Anime 11.3%, Mystery 8.5%
- #55 Blood Lily Loop
67% matchVery Positive84% of 67 reviews2024
Dev: Sounding Stone / 老奉毊
Windows
Your bestie seems to be hiding something. There's something about your world that seems odd as well, like it has...secrets. Dive into the Cthulhu Mythos universe of this horror game and witness a "friendship" that rewrites the world.
Why similar: Visual Novel 25.6%, Drama 12.4%, Anime 12.4%, Horror 11.9%, Multiple Endings 9.1%
- #56 5omeday
64% matchVery Positive91% of 205 reviews2026
Dev: Indigo IngotsPub: Waku Waku Games
Windows
You have been assigned to guard a dragon girl set to be executed at the end of 5 days and have the ability to kill her instantly at any time with the push of a button in this multi-ending visual novel.
Why similar: Visual Novel 25.6%, Choose Your Own Adventure 21.5%, Anime 14.4%, Cute 13.6%, Adventure 6.4%
- #57 Looking Up I See Only A Ceiling
65% matchVery Positive89% of 3,231 reviews2023
Dev: silver978Pub: IndieArk
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 1.3 hrsMean: 2.9 hrs≥1hr: 57%
A short psychological adventure about a stressed girl who wants to explore her ceiling.
Why similar: Visual Novel 23.3%, Anime 19.1%, Mystery 14.8%, Horror 10.9%, Multiple Endings 9.9%
- #58 Lighthouse of Guiding Flames
69% matchVery Positive88% of 68 reviews2019
Dev: TomoToroPub: NARRATIVE NINE LTD
Windows
Ethani lost her way and ended up at the Lighthouse. Where did she come from and where should she go? Explore this fantasy Visual Novel to reveal her past and set sail once more...
Why similar: Visual Novel 20.6%, Drama 15.6%, Anime 12.7%, Detective 11.4%, Choose Your Own Adventure 10.4%
- #59 The Method of Hiding a Body
66% matchVery Positive92% of 83 reviews2024
Dev: Sea of Ghosts
Windows
A story-driven horror puzzle game where the player takes on the role of a resentful ghost, possessing others in order to search for her own corpse.
Why similar: Drama 32.6%, Mystery 27.1%, Multiple Endings 15.5%, Story Rich 7.8%, Choices Matter 7%
- #60 SIMULACRA
67% matchVery Positive90% of 4,596 reviews2017
Dev: Kaigan Games OÜ
Windows · Mac
Median: 3.6 hrsMean: 7.7 hrs≥1hr: 71%
An interactive horror experience of exploring a missing woman’s phone.
Why similar: Visual Novel 19.1%, Detective 18.3%, Horror 10.9%, Drama 10.2%, Sci-fi 9.8%
